Halloween: Reviews and Leaks
As we have been discussing ad nauseum for the past few days (see here and here), Rob Zombie's Halloween hits screens all over the U.S. this Friday and reviews are also starting to hit. The first, from Variety's Dennis Harvey, isn't a total slam, but it's not much of a rave, either. To quote:
"The best that can be said about Rob Zombie's Halloween remake is that he makes it his own, though the considerable alterations only flatter John Carpenter's 1978 slasher-pic template. The original leaned not so much on graphic horror as on the terrible waiting for something bad to happen... Here, however, literal-mindedness rules."
On top of this, it seems like the an earlier cut of the film has been leaked online, before the film underwent reshoots, with some scenes (like Michael's escape from the mental institution) drastically changed. This has lead CHUD's Devin Faraci to make this observation:
"How will this affect Halloween this weekend? I guarantee the film will have a massive Friday to Saturday drop, and not just because it’s the kind of movie that will be Friday front loaded, as so many of the genre are, but because of poisonous word of mouth. The leak being out there will certainly give Zombie and the Weinsteins something to point at when the film underperforms, though."
Negative reviews and online leakage... didn't we already go through this once this summer?
Kind of sad. I was looking forward to this movie. I'm an insane admitted fanboy of the original so I was trying to embrace this as best I could but it's not looking good. Hopefully my low expectations will be exceeded. At least maybe they won't make sequels of this film and make something new instead.
I also don't know if anyone else had already posted this, but I found this online while doing a search for Monsterfest XI
http://www.cablemediasales.com/pages/nets/?cp=nets&sp=info&net=amc
Monsterfest XI
AMC's Monsterfest, back for its 11th scary year, will terrorize your television with scream-inducing films.
Featured films include: The Exorcist I & II, Halloween 1-5, Ninth Gate, Gothika, Children of the Corn I & II, Poltergeist II, Pet Sematary II, The Howling, John Carpenter's The Fog, Pinata: Survival Island, Wes Craven Presents Dracula 2000, Magic, The Fury, Alien: Resurrection, Friday the 13th 3 & 7, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Puppet Master, Young Frankenstein, The Beast Must Die, Psycho, and more.
Hey, I spent my hard earned cash on the piece of crap that is known as Van Helsing, so no matter what the critics say, I'm going to support this re-imagining of Halloween. On Opening Night nonetheless. I haven't been to a films opening night since Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. Which was good and bad, but I did experience my first 3D big screen trip. Hence, the good and bad (bad being the actual footage for the 3D).
Anyways, I still think Rob Zombie is a d*ck, but I am interested in seeing Tyler Mane play Michael, Malcolm McDowell as the wannabe Dr. Loomis, and the long awaited return of Danielle Harris to the Halloween franchise (who should've played Laurie Strode in my own opinion).
Finally A Decent Re-Make Of A True Horror
I have to say I was extremely pleasantly surprised with Rob Zombies masterful work on his re-make of the horror classic Halloween. I have never been a fan of Rob Zombies movies so I went to the theater with doubt. Maybe this was a good thing, because was I surprised and entertained beyond belief. The back-story of Michael Myers was genius, and his dark larger then life appearance made me very quiver. I know it's virtually impossible to re-make classic movies, such as the Omen, When a Stranger Calls, The Fog, the list goes on and on. But, I have to say Mr. Zombie hit the nail on the head. Bravo!! I read a few critic reviews, and they were harsh and very unfair. All I know is that on this particular evening the theater was full, and a lot of screaming and squawking went on. When the movie was finished the audience did clap. Doesn't that count for something? Who are the critics anyway, it's we the people that matter! This may be the kind of movie that has a bigger influenced impact on a larger screen, so I don't know how well it will do on DVD? Sort of like War of the Worlds, great in the theater but missed something on the small screen. All I have to say to Mr. Rob Zombie is this, keep up the great work, I loved your movie, and less is more. Meaning, less blood and violence please.
Finally A Decent Re-Make Of A True Horror
I have to say I was extremely pleasantly surprised with Rob Zombies masterful work on his re-make of the horror classic Halloween. I have never been a fan of Rob Zombies movies so I went to the theater with doubt. Maybe this was a good thing, because was I surprised and entertained beyond belief. The back-story of Michael Myers was genius, and his dark larger then life appearance made me very quiver. I know it's virtually impossible to re-make classic movies, such as the Omen, When a Stranger Calls, The Fog, the list goes on and on. But, I have to say Mr. Zombie hit the nail on the head. Bravo!! I read a few critic reviews, and they were harsh and very unfair. All I know is that on this particular evening the theater was full, and a lot of screaming and squawking went on. When the movie was finished the audience did clap. Doesn't that count for something? Who are the critics anyway, it's we the people that matter! This may be the kind of movie that has a bigger influenced impact on a larger screen, so I don't know how well it will do on DVD? Sort of like War of the Worlds, great in the theater but missed something on the small screen. All I have to say to Mr. Rob Zombie is this, keep up the great work, I loved your movie, and less is more. Meaning, less blood and violence please.
Finally A Decent Re-Make Of A True Horror
I have to say I was extremely pleasantly surprised with Rob Zombies masterful work on his re-make of the horror classic Halloween. I have never been a fan of Rob Zombies movies so I went to the theater with doubt. Maybe this was a good thing, because was I surprised and entertained beyond belief. The back-story of Michael Myers was genius, and his dark larger then life appearance made me very quiver. I know it's virtually impossible to re-make classic movies, such as the Omen, When a Stranger Calls, The Fog, the list goes on and on. But, I have to say Mr. Zombie hit the nail on the head. Bravo!! I read a few critic reviews, and they were harsh and very unfair. All I know is that on this particular evening the theater was full, and a lot of screaming and squawking went on. When the movie was finished the audience did clap. Doesn't that count for something? Who are the critics anyway, it's we the people that matter! This may be the kind of movie that has a bigger influenced impact on a larger screen, so I don't know how well it will do on DVD? Sort of like War of the Worlds, great in the theater but missed something on the small screen. All I have to say to Mr. Rob Zombie is this, keep up the great work, I loved your movie, and less is more. Meaning, less blood and violence please.